Education Requirements

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement is the permanent contact for TCOLE hours.

TCOLE RequirementsContinuing Education Deadlines for all Peace Officer LicenseesCommission Rule 217.11 Legislatively Required Continuing Education for Licensees requires that individuals appointed as peace officers shall complete at least 40 hours of continuing education training and must complete a training and education program that covers recent changes to the laws of this state and of the United States pertaining to peace officers every 24-month unit of a training cycle. Included within the 40-hour requirement are other legislative required topics. These requirements are listed below for your information. All peace officers must meet these requirements or their peace officer licenses will become inactive Aug. 31, 2017. A peace officer first licensed on or after January 1, 2011, must complete a basic training program on the trafficking of persons within one year of licensure.

Legislatively required continuing education requirements for the current training cycle for peace officers holding a Basic Certification are as follows:

Course Topics​

Course Topics​

Deadline​

​Special Investigative Topics

3232 or 3737​

08/31/19

Cultural Diversity​

3939 or 3737​

08/31/19

Crisis Intervention Training ​

3840, 3841, 4001​

08/31/19​

*Note the above courses are mandatory, but can be used as part of the 40 hours required in either unit

Requirement​

Time Frame​

40 hours in the first unit - any topic(s)​

09/01/17 - 08/31/19​

40 hours in the second unit - any topic(s)​

09/01/19 - 08/31/21​

Programs that qualifyAny approved by TCOLE.

Filing for creditRosters are available at approved courses or academics. Make sure your name is on the roster. The rosters are returned to TCOLE at the end of the training and entered into the sheriff's records.

Continuing education requirementsTCOLE may require any sheriff who is not a commissioned peace officer to attend up to 40 hours of education within two to four years of taking office.

Open Government Training Information

Elected and appointed public officials are required by a state law to receive training in Texas open government laws. For more information on this training including free video training courses, check out The Office of the Attorney General website​.

County Official Organizations

The Texas Association of Counties serves as the umbrella organization for various independent county official organizations in Texas. These organizations serve as an important resource for county officials for information, networking and advocacy.